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THE 1883 SEASON BEGINS
The American Association, or the "Beer and Whiskey League," as the National League executives called it, proved in 1882 that it was a viable top-tier league, raiding a few key players from the NL. The raiding continued this offseason, with established stars Cal McVey, Jim Foran and "Orator Jim" O'Rourke as well as many lesser lights joining the new league. Finally, in February the National League sued for peace; the two leagues agreed to stop actively competing with one another for survival.
On the field, there will be a few changes this year. Two new entries have been added to the AA to make it an eight-team outfit - the New York Metropolitans and the Columbus Buckeyes. Meanwhile, the National League dismissed Troy and Worcester in order to better compete with the AA, and added the Philadelphia Quakers and the New York Gothams in their place.
With the peace between the two major leagues, attention was turned to wiping out some of the outlaw leagues and teams that continue to exist in most major cities. In order to reduce teams' ability to earn extra money by playing exhibition games against these clubs, the NL and AA have each expanded their schedules to 98 games this season. Thus, there is more time for teams to race for the pennant, and more teams and probably more parity between those teams than ever before. We could be entering a golden age of base ball!
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